Unfair but balanced commentary on tax and budget policy, contemporary U.S. politics and culture, and whatever else happens to come up

Monday, September 17, 2012

Romney versus the "47 percent"

As Brad Plumer explains on Ezra Klein's blog, only "6.9 percent of households ... are non-elderly and have incomes less than $20,000 per year and aren’t paying the payroll tax .... [and thus] pay neither income taxes nor payroll taxes."

That's a far cry from 47 percent. What's more, this group votes with much lower frequency than the members of more affluent households. So even if one otherwise accepted Romney's "moocher class" theory, we're talking less than 5 percent of this November's likely voters, not 47 percent.

I think what's coming out here is the anger of someone who doesn't feel he should have to ask people for their votes, just as he feels he doesn't owe them any disclosure of his finances or of what policies he would follow. Contempt for the public, for democratic institutions, and for all people who disagree with him or offer insufficient deference is not a good basis for establishing trust.

About Me

I am the Wayne Perry Professor of Taxation at New York University Law School. My research mainly emphasizes tax policy, government transfers, budgetary measures, social insurance, and entitlements reform. My most recent books are (1) Decoding the U.S. Corporate Tax (2009) and (2) Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Toward Bankruptcy (2006). My other books include Do Deficits Matter? (1997), When Rules Change: An Economic and Political Analysis of Transition Relief and Retroactivity (2000), Making Sense of Social Security Reform (2000), Who Should Pay for Medicare? (2004), Taxes, Spending, and the U.S. Government's March Towards Bankruptcy (2006), Decoding the U.S. Corporate Tax (2009), and Fixing the U.S. International Tax Rules (forthcoming). I am also the author of a novel, Getting It. I am married with two children (boys aged 24 and 21) as well as three cats. For my wife Pat's quilting blog, see Patwig’s Blog.